Fiber optic connector sleeves are frequently utilized to facilitate the mating of one or more fiber optic connectors. In this regard, a pair of fiber optic connectors can be inserted into the opposed ends of a fiber optic connector sleeve. The fiber optic connector sleeve serves to align the fiber optic connectors to some degree such that the optical fibers upon which the fiber optic connectors are mounted are also appropriately aligned. As such, fiber optic connector sleeves can be mounted to a patch panel or within an enclosure or like so as to align a pair of fiber optic connectors inserted into opposite ends of the fiber optic connector sleeve.
However, fiber optic connector sleeves can also be adapted to receive only a single fiber optic connector inserted through one end thereof. Even in this instance, however, the fiber optic connector sleeve is adapted to align the optical fiber(s) upon which the fiber optic connector is mounted with optical fiber(s), an optical signal source or other optical components that are mounted in a predefined aligned relationship to the fiber optic connector sleeve. For example, a fiber optic connector that is adapted to receive only a single fiber optic connector can be mounted to an enclosure or a housing, such as the housing of a computer or a telephone, in order to optically connect the optical fibers upon which the fiber optic connector is mounted with optical components within the enclosure or housing.
Although fiber optic connector sleeves can have a variety of shapes and sizes, typical fiber optic connector sleeves for multifiber connectors, such as MTP connectors, are rectangular in lateral cross-section and define a lengthwise extending passageway that also has a generally rectangular shape in lateral cross-section. As such, these conventional fiber optic connector sleeves can receive and align fiber optic connectors having an outer housing with a corresponding rectangular shape in lateral cross-section.
Conventional fiber optic connector sleeves are molded from a plastic material. As such, the lengthwise extending passageway must generally have some draft or be tapered at least somewhat in a lengthwise extending direction in order to permit the mold pins to be removed from the passageway once the fiber optic connector sleeve has been molded thereabout. However, the outer housings of the fiber optic connectors that are inserted into these conventional fiber optic connector sleeves are not tapered so as to match the passageway defined by the connector sleeve. As such, some movement of the fiber optic connectors relative to the fiber optic connector sleeve is permitted, thereby reducing the precision with which a conventional fiber optic connector sleeve aligns the fiber optic connector.
Additionally, the sidewalls of a conventional fiber optic connector sleeve generally bow inward following removal of the molding pins. As will be apparent, this bowing of the sidewalls of a fiber optic connector sleeve further reduces the precision with which a fiber optic connector sleeve can align fiber optic connectors.
In order to more precisely align the fiber optic connectors within a fiber optic connector sleeve, multifiber connectors typically include guide pins which extend outwardly from the ferrule of one of the multifiber connectors for insertion into corresponding openings defined by the ferrule of the other fiber optic connector. As such, conventional fiber optic connector sleeves generally provide a relatively coarse alignment for the fiber optic connectors, while the guide pins that extend between the respective ferrules provide for the precise alignment of the fiber optic connectors.
Depending upon the manner in which the sidewalls of the fiber optic connector sleeve bow following molding and the extent to which the passageway defined by the fiber optic connector sleeve is tapered, some fiber optic connector sleeves may fail to sufficiently align the fiber optic connectors such that the guide pins of one fiber optic connector can readily engage the corresponding openings defined by the ferrule of the other fiber optic connector. The problems created by this misalignment are particularly evident for the smaller fiber optic connectors, such as mini-MTP connectors which include mini-MT ferrules. As a result of their reduced size, these fiber optic connectors generally include much smaller guide pins which extend outwardly from the ferrule of one fiber optic connector for engaging the much smaller openings defined by the ferrule of the other fiber optic connector. Because of the reduced size of the guide pins and the openings in which the guide pins must be inserted, smaller amounts of misalignment, such as misalignment created by bowing of the sidewalls of the fiber optic connector sleeve or tapering of the passageway defined by the fiber optic connector sleeve, can result in significant misalignment of the fiber optic connectors and, more particularly, the optical fibers upon which the fiber optic connectors are mounted.
While fiber optic connector sleeves are widely available, it would nevertheless be desirable to provide a fiber optic connector sleeve which can align the fiber optic connectors inserted into the fiber optic connector sleeve with more precision. In addition, it would be desirable to provide a fiber optic connector sleeve which could be manufactured, such as by molding, without impairing or otherwise reducing the alignment provided by the fiber optic connector sleeve, such as by requiring the features utilized for alignment to be tapered.